Forged in GoldGold creations by Andrew Fisher and Claire Kahn on display at Patina Gallery

Andrew Fisher, who had studied sculpture, drawing and metal arts at the California College of the Arts, blends his love of metal and sculpture into his gold gilded wall tapestries and tabletop sculptures.

Patina Gallery showcases Fisher’s recent work, along with bead crochet necklaces and bracelets by jewelry designer Claire Kahn, in a new show titled “A Friendship Forged in Gold” that opens on October 13.

“Claire and I both share a love of handmade objects, in particular intricate handmade objects,” says Fisher, who lives and works in San Francisco and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and has been Kahn’s friend for many years.

An artist who is drawn to antique Japanese armor and ancient Egyptian gold jewelry, Fisher creates works containing geometric forms and shapes that seem as if they are recently discovered, beautifully-preserved ancient works of art.

His incredibly labor-intensive tapestries are begun by gilding cotton canvas (manta) with 24-karat gold. Paper is gilded with gold, cut into squares and hand sewn onto the manta. Steel is also gilded and adhered to the manta.

“I used to be a goldsmith,” explains Fisher. “I love metal, especially gold and silver. My tapestries and sculptures are like jewelry for the house.”

Kahn, who studied design at Stanford University, has been making works in bead crochet using fiber, glass, metal and stone since 2004. Her process is also very labor-intensive. Bracelets can have single, double or triple strands. Necklaces may be up to 85 inches long and wound or knotted in many different ways.